


Petunia, the bastard cat

by genderlessfish



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Non-Binary Character, F/M, I love em, Other, Trans Duck Newton, but so are minerva n duck, hollis has allergies, hollis n jake being dumb, inaccurate stunts, mentor ish relationship w duck and hollis?, they're all idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2020-12-31 20:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21151637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genderlessfish/pseuds/genderlessfish
Summary: Hollis has a lot on their mind. They're still running a gang, they have a stupid crush on none other than Jake Coolice, and worst of all- they're looking after the creature Duck calls his cat.





	1. Chapter 1

Hollis was capable of many things. 

They could pull off the most difficult of stunts, they could manage the stress that came from being the leader of a gang of millenials, and hell! They could fight off alien monsters with a damned baseball bat. It would stand to reason that Hollis could do pretty much anything. 

Yet there they stood, shivering in the snow and waiting for a phone to ring, because whilst they could punch a super sized ostrich to death, Hollis was too stubborn to admit that Keith might have been onto something when he suggested a crop top wasn't the best clothing choice for a trip out in the middle of December, particularly when your current place of residence was Keplar, West Virginia. 

Hollis had provided two key reasons for their decision to ignore Keith’s wisdom- the first being it wouldn’t be a long trip, and the second being the far more important declaration that, “I look cool and fuck you.”

But, standing inside the (lack of) shelter provided by the booth of Keplars pay phone, aka the only device for miles with international reach, Hollis' midriff did not appreciate the decision to stay exposed. 

The Hornet was all too close to giving up, hanging up the phone and calling it a day, when a familiar voice finally picked up. 

"Hollis, you know I'm glad to hear from you but what the fuck kid? It's almost nine pm, and I'm not THAT old, I know how Google works so I can tell you for sure we're in the same timezone don't even try that again-"

A sense of deja vu hit Hollis, and before they could object they were fifteen again, sulking out back of the forest rangers station whilst a certain employee locked up, chiding them

"You can't just.. Run about in the forest alone like that, it’s dark! You could get hurt." 

They remember scoffing, hands firmly planted in the pocket of their hoodie  
"I wasn't running, jeez. But what's gonna happen, a killer tree attacks me? I'm big enough to handle some branches"

"That’s not- you kids read too much Lord of the Rings or whatever, I just- its too late for this, its well past eight.. Shouldn't you be in bed or something?"

Had fifteen year old Hollis possessed a shred of common sense, they would have shut up, or maybe even tried to be civil. But in that moment they were so overwhelmed, so fed up of bottling up their emotions, they couldn’t help letting it out at Duck, for a moment allowing themselves to pretend he was the source of all (well, most of) their problems, the embodiment of adults and authority figures who didn’t understand or care 

"What the hell are you, ninety? I'm sorry to stop you from going home to all your cats, but I haven't had a 'bedtime' for years cause I'm not fucking BORING. Nobody asked you to be here, did they? The hell do you care if I’m out in the big spooky woods after dark, the only reason you bothered stopping me is because if I got lost it would mean more paperwork for your lazy ass!"

The man had appeared taken aback, and Hollis allowed themselves a moment of smugness. They reckoned the extent of his experience with teenagers was those annual, mind numbing "forest safety talks" he'd deliver at Keplar High, the ones Hollis had skipped every year.

"It’s.. Literally my job to 'be here' and stop you from getting mauled by a bear. The hell would your parents think if you died on them?"

Hollis had frozen. Shit. Shit, shit, *shit*. They slowly looked up, pushing their hood back and meeting Duck's eyes with a pleading look  
"You aren't going to tell my mom about this, are you? I told her I was round a friends house but we fell out and I really don’t wanna go home yet.."

And even though he had been the polar opposite to this teenage ball of angst, Duck Newton saw himself in Hollis. He recognized the oversized hoodie, the beanie tucking up the hair, and the signature slouch he knew all too well.

“No, I won’t tell your mom. The office has a new hot cocoa machine if you want to give it a go.” He allowed as he opened the door  
“I have some work to finish up.”

“I’m not a six year old or stupid. Why would I go into the office of a stranger for fucking hot chocolate, of all things?” Hollis had argued, glaring at the man opposite, who’s only response was to shrug and turn away, calling a response over his shoulder

“I’m not gonna murder you, kid. If I wanted to I’d do it outside, where there’s no CCTV camera.” 

And though Hollis had grumbled, “I’m not a kid”, as they walked in, they had drunk that hot cocoa. And it had been disgusting. But, ranger Newton was nowhere as bad as they’d assumed, and something- Hollis insists it was guilt- stopped Hollis from wandering in the woods along at night. And, that same thing resulted in Hollis not skipping Duck’s forest safety talk that year, or any year following. It also meant that an odd form of bond formed. Their difference in personality, age and pretty much everything meant it couldn’t exactly be described as a friendship, but Duck wasn’t exactly a solid mentor either. It was the sort of bond that came from being the only two trans people in a small town, that meant that even if you didn’t really see each other, you wanted to know the other was okay. So they continued occasionally checking in, and maybe- just maybe- it was at Duck’s recommendation they ended up listening to the Ramones, sparking their love of punk.

“Are you still there? Jesus, don’t tell me I got out of bed for nothing.”  
Duck’s complaints snapped Hollis back to the present, and pulled a laugh from them too. They weren’t surprised, but the fact that the Chosen One, who saved this planet and another, went to bed at eight never failed to crack them up

“No, I’m here. I would apologize for the fact I’m late if I wasn’t still so horrified by the fact you go to sleep so early”

Duck’s huff was audible, but despite his tired tone Hollis knew he wasn’t insulted. Or, if he was, he’d spent six years pretending he wasn’t and honestly Hollis was too tired to even begin contemplating whether Duck had been lying to him for years about a dumb joke that came up almost every time they spoke.

“Did you feed Petunia?”

Duck’s redirection of the conversation caught Hollis off guard, and they swore. This was far from the first time Hollis had forgotten to feed the cat, but tonight, as their breath frosted the glass of the booth on one side while nature frosted the other, Hollis dreaded the idea. And somehow, Duck picked up on this

“I’ll tell you what- leave it tonight, then get her tomorrow and move her into your place. I know you’re allergic to fur but she’s shorthair and I have tablets, and it’d save you the trouble of trekking to my apartment every day.”

Hollis took a deep breath, and though they’d had this discussion before they found they were too tired to disagree.

“Okay.”

“Seriously? Thankyou! You won’t even notice she’s there”

-

Hollis knew Petunia was there. 

Their leather jacket was constantly covered in white hair, along with all the black clothes in their wardrobe- which was, to say, half of them. She sat on their head every morning long before their alarm was set to go off, and if Hollis’ violent sneezes weren’t enough to wake them they *swear* she’d stay still long enough to suffocate them. They even seemed to permanently have the red nose associated with winter, despite usually priding themselves on not getting sick. Petunia was a living nightmare, yet Hollis couldn’t bring themselves to tell Duck. They figured they’d give it another week or so, at the least.

That morning had been particularly frustrating, and after a particularly aggressive set of sneezes Hollis had been so desperate to get out of the house they hadn’t even bothered with their usual morning coffee.

Maybe it was down to the lack of sleep and caffeine, or maybe it was down to the wind blowing in their eyes, already bleary from allergies, but they somehow managed to miss the figure yelling their name until he snowboarded to a halt right in front of them- and Jake Coolice, clad in clothing that looked to have witnessed the explosion of multiple highlighters, was a difficult figure to miss in the endless white of the slopes.

“Hollis! What’re you doing out here? The Hornets don’t have practise for another couple of hours”

Hollis decided not to wonder for too long how Jake’s clothing hurt more to look at than the sun itself being reflected off the surrounding snow, instead raising an eyebrow

“Why do you know when we start?”

Hollis had immediately winced, their words sounding harsher than intended, but they had no reason to fear- Jake didn’t look hurt, just confused.

“I just do.” He told them, like it was obvious, and they found themselves believing it was- he used these slopes too, it would make sense for him to know when they’d be busiest.

Jake looked at Hollis again, head tilted, and they fought the urge not to look down or blush. Their stupid crush on Jake Coolice had been around for as long as they’d known him- it fluctuated, sure, and for a while after the two stopped talking Hollis had managed to convince themselves it was gone. Unfortunately for Hollis, their returning friendship had also meant the return of their feelings, and they’d be lying if they said that wasn’t a big reason for them keeping Jake at arms length. Still, they refused to allow themselves to blush or look away, because despite everything else Hollis had a reputation, and they were not the kind of person to get flustered, no matter how pretty they thought the boy standing opposite them to be.

“It’s the cat.” Jake decided, detaching himself from his board and tucking it under his arm  
“You look exhausted, cmon”

And Hollis was exhausted, so it took them a moment to register the brightly mittened hand enclosing their wrist and dragging them back up the slope, staring at it for a moment too long before asking  
“Where are we going?”

“The cafe.” Jake responded instantly, still holding on tight  
“If I’ve ever seen someone who needs a cup of coffee, it’s you.”

And Hollis, almost delirious from their lack of sleep, wasn’t in any place to argue. So whilst being dragged wasn’t their usual style, they figured they could put up with it when it was Jake.


	2. Chapter 2

A few hours later and the Hornets had arrived- Hollis was usually first to show up, so nobody questioned what they were doing in the cafe, and despite Hollis’ worries the Hornets seemed completely fine, if not happy, with Jake’s presence- though the smirk on Keith’s face as he saw who Hollis had been sat with was enough to make them want to throttle him.

And for a while, it felt like the old days, with the younger members trying to show off and usually falling over, the older Hornets laughing, Keith winking suggestively at them whenever nobody else was looking and Hollis trying not to ski straight into a tree because of looking just a little too long at Jake.

Until Hollis, of who hadn’t had a serious crash in years, did just that.

In their defense it wasn’t a big tree or anything, just the stump, but one that someone with Hollis’ experience should have definitely noticed. They landed in a heap, curled in on themselves in the snow more out of embarrassment then fear.

When they finally bought themselves to open their eyes, three faces loomed above them- a grinning Keith, a concerned Jake and an angry Jim, who was one of the oldest Hornets.

“I’m fine” Hollis murmured stubbornly, taking Keith’s hand to pull themselves upright  
“I was just in a daze, not really looking where I was going..”

“You don’t say” Keith teased in amusement, earning a confused look from Jake, who opened his mouth to respond but was beaten by an aggravated Jim

“No, they do say. I know exactly what ‘s wrong- it’s him” Jim snapped and pointed to Jake, causing Hollis’ pulse to stop  
“Walked out on us all that time ago and what, now because he’s a yeti or some shit we trust him? They were the enemy- one of him killed our friends, and we’re just.. Letting him board with us?”

“Seal.” Hollis responded through gritted teeth, tone measured only to stop their anger from exploding out  
“He’s a seal, and he saved countless Hornet lives, mine included, that day alone. I don’t know when you got this stupid idea into your head, but I suggest you go the fuck away from us until it’s out.”

Jim seemed to want to say more but, seeming to have at least some intelligence left, turned and walked stiffly away

“Dick” Hollis heard Keith mutter to their left, and they cracked a small smile- until they saw Jake had already left. They began to follow, but faltered after taking a step, sharp pain stabbing through their ankle. It was twisted, nothing bad, but potential to get worse if walked on

“Yeah, no.” Keith told them, looking at their ankle too  
“I’ll go speak to him, just.. Get Alice or someone to drive you home.”

“What? No, you don’t have to do that..” Hollis began, already trying to take another step

“Jesus man, look at yourself.” Keith said in shock, but then frowned and paused  
“Look, he was my friend too.”

And even if Hollis could think of a decent argument to that, Keith was gone before they could give it

-

Lying on their couch, a bag of frozen peas to their ankle and a cat on their chest (she’d been kicked off multiple times, but returned regardless), Hollis was not expecting the landline to ring- and, more importantly, they couldn’t be bothered to pick up once it did. After a minute of ringing, Hollis groaned, and raised their voice to where they knew a couple of Hornets were doing an essay in the kitchen

“Get the phone, will you?”

They heard groans, silence, then the chant of ‘rock, paper, scissors’. The phone rang on.

“Hurry up!”

Someone cheered, and then a defeated yellow-clad girl headed to the phone. She picked it up, nodded, then threw it at Hollis’ head with no warning other then an unapologetic smile and the statement   
“It’s for you” 

Hollis caught it without much difficulty, but still rolled their eyes and gave her the middle finger, which she returned with a grin.  
“Hello?” 

“Hey, kid! How are you?” Duck greeted, voice distorted- usually, Hollis had to trek to a phone booth to make the call, but they assumed Duck had found something with further reach this time, though being at home still meant a crappy signal.

“I’m.. an adult. You know this. An adult with a twisted ankle, but a fully grown human nonetheless.” Hollis told him, ignoring the snickers accompanying their last statement that came from the kitchen. No matter what the Hornets said, five five was NOT that short. They just stole all the tall sports genes because damn it this was a family and when you thought about it that was quite selfish of everybody. Nobody seemed to see their point.

“Yeah, y.. Wait, a twisted ankle? Hollis what the hell, what’d you do? How bad is it? Do you need to go to the hospital? Damn, at least say you’re resting it-”

To Hollis’ surprise, a booming voice beat Hollis to their response, and instead of being mocked for his paranoia Duck was met with the exclamation of  
“Wayne Newton! I was not aware you had a child- what sort of injury is it they’ve acquired?”

On one end of the phone line came the muffled laughter and exclamation of “Wayne!”, where from the other end came an exasperated sigh   
“I- honey, no, Hollis is a friend- you know, they’re looking after Petunia-”

“Oh! Well, perhaps I may be of some assistance regardless- I’ve suffered my fair share of battle wounds.” The voice who Hollis could only assume to be Minerva continued with undampened enthusiasm, which they had to admire.

“Just a ski accident, it’s fine.” Hollis clarified for both their sakes  
“Tripped on a stump, wasn’t going fast”

“Very well! I shall leave you to it” Minerva replied, still loud enough to be heard despite having left the room

“Alright, well, I have to g-” Duck began hopefully, already braced for what was coming

“Uh, no the fuck you don’t! What was that? Wanye?? HONEY?” Hollis teased, smirk almost audible in their voice. So this was what Keith felt like.

“I- shut up, I wasn’t thinking properly cause you confused me.” Duck tried in an almost pitiful attempt to redirect the conversation

“Not so fast, WAYNE.” Hollis repeated with seemingly infinite- and certainly disproportionate- enthusiasm  
“What’s all that about?”

“I.. named myself after batman when I was, like, ten.” Duck admitted hesitantly  
“By the time I realized it was the singer I’d already gotten my school to change their records, and I felt bad so- I just went by a nickname.”

Hollis’ laughter was almost deafening, and silenced the discussion in the kitchen momentarily  
“..Duck, my man, batman was named Bruce.”

“I know!” He responded defensively, only causing Hollis to crack up further  
“I tried Bruce but my mum said ‘Bruce Newton’ sounded bad..”

“She was right” Hollis admitted after a minute, laughter finally subdued and Duck’s eyeroll was practically audible

“Yeah, yeah. Now you’ve uncovered my deepest darkest secrets, tell me the hell it was that happened with your ankle?” Duck pressed, causing Hollis to groan. Of course he wasn’t dropping it.

“I skied into a treestump.”

The following silence was all Hollis needed to know Duck wouldn’t go without the full story, so they took a deep breath, then added

“..Because I was looking at Jake.”

“Again?” Duck asked, and Hollis hated that they could hear his laughter. How did this go from Wayne, the best discovery of Hollis’ life, back to them?

“Oh no, I’m sorry, we’ve lost connection.” Hollis said blankly, hanging up on the still laughing Duck

“..Jake?” Another voice asked, and looking up Hollis saw a hornet poking his head out of the kitchen, almost as smug as Keith

“Shut up” Hollis complained, throwing a pillow at him then groaning and collapsing back into the sofa. It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a while but I'm still going with this fic!! I have it planned out but might end up exceeding 6 chapters.. We'll see.


	3. Chapter 3

“Jake?” Keith’s voice called out, unusually soft. He’d followed the Sylvan back to the lodge, and was more confused about seal anatomy than ever because he was very sure neither humans nor aquatic beings were meant to be able to climb a snowy hill as fast as Jake had.

A boldly dressed figure looked up from where he’d been sat on the porch, trying to tug off his snow boots, and frowned  
“You should’ve stayed with Hollis, they looked hurt.”

Keith laughed as he sat next to Jake, beginning to work on the yellow laces of his own boots  
“You know Hollis, they’re a big kid. Anyway, you looked more hurt.”

“.. But I didn’t fall over?” Jake reminded Keith, confusion evident in his voice

“You’re the biggest softie I know, Jake. There’s more ways than physical to get hurt.”  
He seemed to notice Jake’s expression and, quickly, reassured  
“It’s a good thing.”

“Thanks..”

The pair sat in silence for a minute, fiddling with their laces before an almost nervous Jake broke the quiet.

“Why did you come, though?”

“I told you” Keith said dismissively,  
“That jackass upset you, and I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“That ‘jack-a’ was one of you, though.” Jake protested, his censoring only causing the other boy to snort,  
“I’m not any more.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Keith asked in disbelief, turning to face Jake again.  
“You’ve always been one of us”

Jake exhaled shakily, breath visible in the cold air.  
“Jim doesn’t seem to think so.”

“Screw Jim. We miss you.”

“Are you.. Even allowed to say that?” Jake asked, laughing in surprise as Keith shrugged.

“Hollis would agree, and anyone who doesn’t can shove off- you were one of the OGs.”

Jake only laughed harder, mood clearing almost instantly.  
“You did _not_ just say ‘OG’ unironically”

“People change!” Keith defended, grinning as Jake shook his head.

“Not that much. Something’s wrong.”

“Yeah? Hollis has a tiktok.”

“They do _not_” Jake protested in disbelief

“Do too! They post our stunt videos on it.”

Jake simply laughed, ignoring the ache in his chest that reminded him just how much he had missed these interactions.  
“You’re ridiculous.”

“It’s true! Hey, maybe if you rejoined us you could be in some videos-” The other boy offered tauntingly, and whilst Jake was still shook to his core by the idea of _Hollis_ owning social media, especially one they'd been so snooty about before, he did know what his answer had to be  
“You know I can’t rejoin you guys.”

Keith sighed and stood  
“Just think about it, yeah? You can even ask Mama, if you care that much”

-

Mama stared at Jake in disbelief  
“There’s no way in hell you’re joining the Hornets again.”

“We’ve mellowed out! Also, give Barclay my thanks, cause as per-fuckin-usual, his hot cocoa is _the shit_” Keith chimed in, wiping his chocolatey mustache away with the back of his hand.

“..A pleasure as always, Keith” Mama said dryly  
“I’m sure you have, and you sure proved yourself at the whole battle, don’t get me wrong. But you have a bad rep with the police, and you _know_ silfs can’t afford a magnifying glass on them like that.”

“What cops? Neither wants to arrest us, and one doesn’t even have the corporeal form to do so.” Keith reminded her from where he was perched on the countertop. 

“Other cops. You go out of town, compete in competitions- and I’ve seen the posts, you’re a rowdy bunch.”

“You follow the Hornets instagram?” Jake asked in surprise, joining for the first time since he was shut down at the start of their conversation.

“Tiktok, actually.” She replied coolly, and Jake had no idea whether the concept of Keith telling the truth or Mamma actually having the app was more surprising.  
“*Anyway*, you aren’t rejoining the Hornets.”

“But-” Both Jake and Keith had tried

“No.”

-

“I can’t believe you’re rejoining the Hornets!” Keith hollered as they approached the run down bar that had once been their nest.

“I’m _visiting_. She can’t fault me for that, right?” Jake shushed him, and Keith's infuriating smirk was the only reminder he needed that she could, and definitely would, do just that.

“Whatever. Everyone’s gonna be pumped to have you back- y'know Hollis never shuts up about you, right? And some of the younger guys, they think you’re so fuckin cool- and I mean, you are! Hope you aren’t rusty though, you used to be really good… not that it’d be a problem, we could catch you up. Oh, and the nest’s nearly rebuilt! You’re gonna love it” Keith rambled, and Jake just listened to his old friend, letting him fill the silence as he took in the familiar scenery until some bikes pulled up to the ruins.

“Jake- hell yeah, I didn’t know you were coming” one of the Hornets exclaimed as she hopped from her bike, holding her hand out for a fist bump he happily gave.

“Oh! It’s great to have you back”  
Hollis beamed at him as they pulled off their own helmet, raising their fist to him too. He considered it for a moment before pulling them into a hug instead, shaking his head.

“I’m not _back_, I’m just… Hanging out.”

Hollis pulled away from the hug, raising an eyebrow at him playfully  
“Yeah? What if I said this was a Hornets only affair?”

“What, are you tryna make him marry into the family?” Keith called out, grinning at the resulting snickers from the other riders.

“You foiled my plan. I shall now remain single forever.” Hollis deadpanned in response, only causing more laughter in the group as Jake rolled his eyes

“I forgot you guys were like this.”

“Miss it?” They asked with a smirk, holding out a bike helmet that he instinctively took.

“...Maybe.” He confessed as he looked down at his hands,  
“Wait- what’s this for?”

“The bike! We might be adrenaline junkies but we’re not _idiots_.” A Hornet chimed in.  
“Alright, we are a little. But our nannies over there insist” she amended after she saw Hollis cross their arms, jerking a thumb towards them and Keith.

Keith puffed out his chest as he mounted his bike.  
“Damn right we do- you guys ready?”

“I uh- I can’t ride.” Jake quickly said, eyeing the bikes nervously.

“It’s easy! Kinda like… a mix between riding a bike and driving a car, only nothing like a car apart from the engine.” Someone called out, and Jake stared at them blankly  
“You can do that, right?”

After a moment of silence he shook his head, slowly trying to hand his helmet back to Hollis.

They nudged it back to him  
“I’ll have to teach you, then.”

“Seriously? Cause I can just watch you guys or something.” Jake offered, turning to face them.

“Yeah, but that’s boring” They hummed out, clipping their helmet back on.  
“Wanna learn or not?”

“Sounds radical.” He decided, grinning at the groans it brought out from the other Hornets.

“Some things never change” Hollis huffed,  
“You guys go ahead! We’re gonna stick to the kiddie path here.”

“Have fun~” Keith taunted as he drove away, gesturing for the others to follow him. Jake frowned- was it *not* going to be fun? Should he be scared right now?

“Alright, you wanna hop on?” Hollis asked, leaning the bike towards him, and his frown only deepened.

“Shouldn’t you like… show me first? Or something?”

“There’s no trick to it! M’afraid we don’t have any kids, so you’re not getting stabilisers, but if you’re that scared I can hold you up on your first go.” Hollis offered, and even though Jake knew they were teasing him, Keith had left him genuinely afraid of the wheeled contraption (deathtrap?) he was preparing to mount.

“Please, yeah.” He decided, hesitantly copying the earlier movements of a Hornet to clamber on, one foot still securely on solid ground.

Hollis froze for a moment, expression indecipherable, and Jake wondered if he’d done something wrong until they eventually snorted.

“Yknow what, sure. Only to get you started, though, cause you gotta go fast to keep your balance.” They said as they gently placed a their hands on his waist, helping to hold him upright

Jake gulped, looking down nervously. He had no idea what stressed him out about this so much- he snowboarded down massive hills, and no matter what Keith had been suggesting, riding a bike down the road could *not* be that scary, especially not with Hollis helping him. He felt his heart beat faster anyway, quickly moving his feet to the pedals.

Unfortunately for the both of them, as Hollis tried to move him forwards, he forgot about the pedalling part. He wobbled, turning to look at them in surprise and managing to overbalance the whole bike in the process. Straight into a snowdrift.

“Pedal!” Hollis yelped, far too late, as the pair went crashing into the snow.

“You could’ve told me that earlier” Jake whined as he frantically tried to roll off Hollis and the bike, only pushing them further into the snow.

Hollis squirmed away, managing to stand after a few moments of struggling, and pulled the bike away from Jake.  
“I thought it was obvious!”

Jake huffed, now lying alone in the mound of snow.  
“What does that say about your teaching, huh?”

“That I’m excellent for cushioning your fall? Speaking of- get up, you’re gonna catch a cold.”

They extended their hand, which Jake reluctantly took and allowed himself to be pulled up  
“So… no second attempt?”

“No! Cmon, I’ll give you a ride back to the lodge- hop onto the back, cause there’s no way you’re driving this thing again for a *while*.” Hollis told him as they climbed onto the bike, and he reluctantly followed them, standing awkwardly on the bar attached to the middle of the back wheel and clinging to their shoulders.

As they set off down the icy road, Jake decided he _really_ didn't like bikes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter that's way too short and way too late- but it's here anyway! I'm not the happiest w it, but things are gonna heat up. Also, since we have nothing but time rn, I'm planning on actually finishing this! (double also, this was un-beta'd soo don't judge me too much ig? Or do, that's prolly equally fair.)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was ok! I haven't written any fics since I was into Voltron, which is.. more recent than I'm proud of.. but I'm here now and I have better taste! I haven't written in a while, so this probably isn't going to be the best, but I've read literally every Hollis fic on here so I had to do something. I'm not exactly sold on the title either but yknow what I'm tired and it's not exactly going to be a masterpiece, but hope y'all enjoy it anyway! edit: I'm being dumb and can't figure out why it's still saying 1/1 chapters, but rn I have five or six planned


End file.
